Disclaimer- CSI:NY and it characters are not my property. They belong to CBS and a bunch of other people. The original character Aurora Denton, I own.

Author's Note- This story has Aiden Burn in it because I really liked her, and because I am including a lot of season one stuff in here down the road. However, it talks about recent events, so it's AU-ish. Hope everyone enjoys. Also, I am from the Pittsburgh area so the stories about the city in here are true.

(FPPOV)

I walked into the precinct looking around for Det. Don Flack. I was supposed to meet him here and start to work. Finally I saw a tall, dark-haired man sitting at a desk with 'Det. Flack' on the name plate. I walked over to that desk.

"Detective Flack?" I asked. He looked up at me. "I'm Aurora Denton. I was told to meet you here."

"Yeah, my new partner. I've been expecting you." Flack said, standing up and extending his hand. "I've read your files. Nice to meet you. I'm Detective Don Flack."

"Same to you." I said.

"Take a seat. It's been a slow morning so far. You want some coffee?" Flack asked.

"No thanks." I said sitting down.

"The brass told me I was getting a partner a few weeks ago. I was surprised to see it was someone from outside the city." Flack said.

"I'm new to the NYPD." I said.

"I saw that. You came here from Pittsburgh. Home of the Superbowl champions." Flack smiled.

"Please don't mention that. Getting away from all that was one bonus of moving here." I smiled.

"That was a boring Superbowl, no offense." Flack said.

"None taken. I am not a Steelers fan. This girl's heart belongs to Manning and the Colts." I said. "Besides, that whole Superbowl was boring. The game and the commercials. Best part was the half-time show waiting on one of the Rolling Stones to drop dead."

Flack laughed. "Did you see Mick Jagger shaking his hips? I was waiting to hear a loud snap."

I laughed with him. "I know what you mean."

"You like sports other than football?" Flack asked.

"Of course. I love hockey, big Minnesota fan. And I love baseball but I won't mention who I cheer for there." I said.

"You're a Red Sox fan in New York?" he asked. "Good thing you carry a gun."

I laughed. "If it makes you feel better I like the Braves too." I giggled.

"I'm just so glad you're a sports fan. At least you won't be bored when I am listening to ball games during stakeouts." Flack said.

"But you have to tune into the NASCAR races too." I said.

"NASCAR? That's just a bunch of cars driving in a circle!" Flack said.

"I like it. Gordon fan since 93." I smiled.

"Just when I was starting to like you." Don smiled.

Don's phone rang. He picked it up. "Flack…..yeah…we're on our way."

Don stood up and looked at me. "Our slow morning just ended. Jogger in Central Park found a body hanging from a tree. I'm driving."

Flack put on his jacket and I followed him out of the station house.

When we arrived at the crime scene there was a uniformed officer with the jogger who was panicking.

"What can you tell us?" Flack asked the officer.

"This jogger found him here. Realized he was dead and flagged me down as I was making my rounds." He explained.

"Mounted officers in the park." Flack explained. "Any other witnesses?"

"No, I checked for a pulse, the guy is definitely dead." The mounted officer explained. I noticed his horse a few feet away.

"Okay, calm this guy down and we'll question him when he feels up to it. I'll get the perimeter secured." Flack said.

Flack and I walked over to the tree. A Caucasian male was hanging from a noose in the tree. He was fully clothed.

"Alright Denton, let's see what Pittsburgh taught you. What do you think suicide or homicide?" Flack asked me.

I walked around the body. I noticed footprints near the trunk of the tree and was careful to avoid them. I looked at the body and saw ligature marks going straight around his neck.

"Homicide. Look at the ligature marks. If he'd hung himself, the marks would be going up his neck and towards his ears. Instead they go straight around. Looks as if someone staged this to look like a suicide." I said.

Flack smiled. "We're gonna get along just fine. I'm calling the CSI team."

I smiled as Flack pulled out his cell phone and made a call. I looked to where the mounted officer was trying to calm the jogger. I had the other uniformed officers keep on-lookers away.

Soon CSI showed up, carrying their kits. Two men and a woman approached Flack and I.

"What do we got Flack?" the older, more serious looking CSI asked Flack.

"DOA, Caucasian male, looks to be between 30-35 years old. No ID found nearby, no one has touched the body. He was found like this by a jogger. Appears to be homicide." Flack said.

"Anything else?" the woman CSI asked.

"The jogger who found him is still upset; we're trying to calm him down before questioning. I noticed the ligature marks don't match how he is hanging now. I think whoever put him in the tree was trying to cover a murder." I said.

"Who are you?" the young male CSI asked.

"Sorry, I didn't introduce her before." Flack said. "This is my new partner, Detective Aurora Denton."

"Mac Taylor." The older, serious CSI said and shook my hand. "You're the one from Pittsburgh?"

"Yeah." I answered.

"Aiden Burn" the female CSI said and shook my hand. "Flack's been talking about you coming for over a week now."

"Danny Messer." The younger male CSI said and shook my hand.

"Nice to meet all of you." I said.

"Let's get to work." Mac said. "Aiden photo the scene. Danny check the body for fibers. I'm gonna make casts of these footprints."

"I'm gonna question the jogger, get his statement." I said.

Flack nodded. "Good idea. I'm gonna canvas the area, see if anyone saw something they haven't mentioned yet."

(TPPOV)

Aiden started taking pictures of the crime scene from several angles. Danny started looking over the body for any noticeable evidence.

"I saw you looking at Aurora." Aiden said to Danny.

"What? I'm a guy. I give every girl the once over." Danny shrugged with a smirk.

Aiden rolled her eyes. "You sound like Flack."

"Lucky Flack gets a cute new partner." Danny said. Aiden cleared her throat. "And I already had one."

"Finding anything?" Mac asked.

"Found a few red fibers here that were out of place." Danny said. "I'll have to see them under a microscope to know for sure what they are. There is no skin under this guy's nails."

"I don't see any signs of a struggle. This is not where he was killed." Aiden said. "You?"

"My plaster molds are hardening. There were a few footprints at the base of the tree." Mac said. "The new girl was right; those ligature marks don't match a suicide by hanging."

"How do we get him down?" Flack asked, walking back to them.

"Danny and I can take care of that. You find anything new?" Mac asked.

"As usual no one saw anything. Aurora is talking with the jogger now." Flack said.

"I'll get a body bag; we need to get this guy to Hawkes." Mac said and went to his kit.

Danny elbowed Flack. "New partner? What do you know about her?"

"Well in the few minutes I got to talk to her before the call…..she has a good sense of humor and likes sports. And so far she seems very smart and professional." Flack said. "And she's easy on the eyes."

"Remind me to warn her about you two." Aiden rolled her eyes.

"You love us." Danny told her.

"Don't remind me." Aiden winked.

"Flack, you have a thing for blondes. She's just your type." Danny elbowed Flack again.

"She's strawberry blonde." Aiden commented.

"Whatever." Danny said.

"Okay, Danny help me get this guy down." Mac said, returning with a body bag.

(FPPOV)

I walked back to the crime scene where Mac and Danny were placing the victim in a body bag.

"Hey Oreo, what'd you find out?" Danny asked.

"Aurora." I corrected. "Anyway, the jogger was just going along his daily jog route about 7:30 this morning when he found this guy hanging here. He said he thought it was a suicide and checked for a pulse in case the guy wasn't dead yet and could be saved. Said the guy was cold so he flagged down the mounted officer."

"Saw or heard nothing else?" Flack asked.

"No. I got all his information. We can run a check, but I'm willing to bet the jogger isn't involved." I answered.

"Okay, Danny you get back to the lab and test the fibers you found, see if you can find anything from the rope that will help us. Aiden, you go over the casts of shoe prints I made. Find a brand and size. Flack make sure the DOA gets to Hawkes; I'll stop in after lunch and see what Sheldon finds. Tell him we need prints to run for ID." Mac said.

"You got it." Aiden said.

"What are you gonna do?" Flack asked.

"I'm taking the new girl to lunch. I like to know who I'm working with." Mac smiled. "But I'll drop her off at the station after lunch."

I smiled. "Sounds good. Flack you need me before then?"

"If I do I'll call Mac. Make sure you give me your cell number before the end of the day." Flack said.

I nodded.

"Ready to go? You like tacos?" Mac asked me.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I said.

"Great. Let's go." I followed Mac away from the crime scene.

Mac and I ended up at a small taco shop near Central Park. After placing our orders we grabbed a small table near the window.

"So you're from Pittsburgh?" Mac asked.

"Yeah. I was born and raised in a small town outside the city." I said.

"What made you leave?" Mac asked.

I sighed. "The Pittsburgh PD was too full of scandal, too many crooks. Officers suffocated a man during a traffic stop and no charges were brought. At the county jail, cops were trading drugs for sexual favors from female inmates and just a few were made scapegoats and charged. I'd always managed to avoid all that and just focus on my job….one day I just couldn't take it anymore."

"What happened?" Mac asked.

"The small town I was from….didn't even have stoplights, just stop signs, a few convenient stores and a municipal building. One of the township officers raped a woman in the police station……and right after that it was found that the sheriff had lied on his resume and wasn't who he said he was. I just wanted out." I said.

"Why New York?" Mac asked.

"I've heard the NYPD is the finest in the country. I wanted a new start." I said.

"You came to the right place. I think you're going to love it here. And I think you're going to be a great addition." Mac smiled.

"Thank you. I'm really glad to be here. I'm all settled into my new apartment." I said.

"Where do you live at?" Mac asked as our food was served.

"Manhattan. I couldn't decide between Manhattan and Brooklyn, but found a place that allows pets in Manhattan and that made up my mind for me." I said.

"What do you do in your spare time?" Mac asked.

"This is like an interrogation." I said.

"I said I wanted to get to know you." Mac smiled.

"Well as Flack found out earlier, I love sports. And I love to dance. You'll have to tell me which clubs have the best reputations, so I don't end up in one in the red light district by mistake." I smiled. "What about you? What do you do to relax?"

"I rarely have time to relax." Mac said. "You married?"

"No, not yet. Still waiting on Prince Charming to sweep me off my feet." I smiled and Mac smiled too. "How about you? You married?"

Mac looked at me a moment. "My wife was killed in the Trade Center on 9/11."

"I am so sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." I said.

"It's fine. I brought it up in the first place; you were just getting to know me, like I'm getting to know you." Mac assured me.

After lunch Mac dropped me off at the station and went onto the ME's office. Flack was waiting inside for me.

"Find anything new?" I asked him.

"Waiting for results on prints now. Hawkes was able to lift them from our DOA." Flack said.

"Hawkes the medical examiner?" I asked.

"Yes, I am so sorry. I keep forgetting you're new to the department." Flack said. "They got a desk ready for you." Flack indicated across the aisle from his. "How was lunch with Mac?"

"Great…he is really nice. I like him and think he'll be great to work with." I said.

Flack smiled. "Also, our DOA was killed by manual strangulation as you predicted. Hawkes says the time of death was most likely around midnight and the man was hung in the tree in the early morning hours."

"Explains why no one saw anything. Messer found some fibers and Mac found footprints, hopefully that will lead us to somewhere." I said.

Flack's phone rang. While he answered it, I went to my new desk. It was supplied with the basics. I made a note to myself to buy some cheerful stationary and bring a few pictures in.

"That was Mac. We identified the corpse through prints." Flack said.

"Who was he?" I asked.

"Ross Black from Staten Island. 33 years old, worked at a warehouse in the Bronx. Married, no children." Flack said.

"Why was he in the system?" I asked.

"Apparently got in some mild trouble as a kid, drunken driving arrest at 19 and nothing since then." Flack said. "We gotta go talk to his widow."

"You driving?" I asked.

"Might as well, you're still getting familiar with the area." Flack smiled.

Flack and I drove to Staten Island to the home of Ross Black. We walked up the front stairs and knocked on the door. After a few minutes a woman opened the door.

"Mrs. Black?" Flack asked and the woman nodded. "NYPD, I'm Detective Flack this is my partner Detective Denton; we need to speak with you."

The woman let us into her home.

"Mrs. Black, when was the last time you saw your husband Ross?" I asked.

"Yesterday morning, when he left for work." She answered.

"And you haven't been worried that he hasn't been home in over a day?" Flack asked.

"Not really, we weren't getting along lately. Why, is something wrong?" she asked.

"Mrs. Black, I'm very sorry, but Ross was found dead in Central Park this morning." I said.

She blinked a few times. "What happened?"

"He was murdered." Flack said. "Do you know of anyone that would want to kill your husband?"

"No, he was a good man." She said.

"Where were you last night around midnight?" I asked.

"Home." She said.

"Can anyone verify your alibi?" Flack asked.

"No…..wait I called my sister around 11:30 last night. She hasn't felt well and I was checking on her." Mrs. Black said.

"We'll check your alibi and let you know if we find anything." Flack said.

Don and I walked out of her house and down the sidewalk.

"You believe her?" Flack said.

"She certainly isn't a grieving widow. She took the news that her husband was dead better than I did the NHL strike." I said.

Flack smiled. "We'll check the phone records and see what we get. Let's head back to the lab and see what CSI has for us."

Flack and I drove back to the lab. Inside we saw Aiden and Danny working.

"Hey Flack, Cinderella." Danny said.

"Aurora." I said.

"I knew it was one of the Disney Princesses." Danny smirked.

"And how do you know about Disney Princesses?" I asked him with a smirk of my own.

Aiden laughed. "Ohhhh, I like her."

Flack snickered.

"Hey cut me a break. I dated a girl who liked Disney movies." Danny said.

"Sure!" I winked.

Aiden threw an arm around my shoulder. "Aurora, let me help you out here. First of all, never believe anything Messer or Flack tells you."

"Hey!" Flack and Danny said in unison.

Aiden giggled. "They're great guys when you get to know them, but they'll drive you crazy."

"Anyways, Aurora and I just came from talking to the widow of Ross Black. She doesn't seem too emotional and was no help. Mac is checking her alibi now. What do you guys have?"

"The fibers I found are cotton, most consistent with that used for flannel. Most likely from a shirt or coat." Danny said.

"The prints Mac found are from Addidas running shoes, size 10." Aiden said.

Mac walked into the lab. "Mrs. Black's alibi checks out. Phone records show a call to her sister from 11:33PM to 12:07AM." Mac said.

"I think we should go to Ross Black's place of employment, see if his co-workers know anything that could help." I said.

"You read my mind." Flack said.

"Danny and I will come with you to help with interviews. Aiden, stay here and help Stella with her case from Queens." Mac said.

"Let's go." Flack said.

"New girl rides with me." Danny said and threw his arm around my shoulder. "Whatta you say Ardelia?"

"Aurora." I said. "And that's fine with me."

Mac raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Danny and I got in an SVU and followed Mac and Flack to the Bronx.

"So Gardenia, tell me about yourself." Danny said as we drove.

"Aurora…why are you having such a hard time with that?" I asked.

"Because it's an odd name. How did you get it?" Danny asked.

"It's a long story. My grandfather was a World War II vet who was in love with the Andrews Sisters who entertained troops with the USO. They had a song called 'Aurora' and he loved it." I explained.

"That's actually a nice story." Danny smiled. "And the name suits you."

We pulled up at the warehouse. Danny and I joined Mac and Flack at the doors.

"Danny and Aurora, you take the morning shift. Flack and me will take the afternoon shift. We got here at a good time, changing shifts." Mac said.

Danny and I went off in the direction opposite of Mac and Flack. We talked to a few people, none of which knew why anyone would want to kill Ross Black. A few pointed us in the direction if his best friend who might help us more.

"Bill Thomas." Danny said when we found who was said to be Ross's best friend.

"Yes, can I help you?" he said.

"NYPD, I'm Detective Aurora Denton, this is Detective Danny Messer. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Ross Black." I said.

"Is he in some kind of trouble?" Bill asked.

"We're sorry to be the ones to tell you this but Ross is dead. He was found murdered this morning." Danny said.

"Ross is dead? Murdered?" Bill asked.

"Mr. Thomas, do you know of anyone who would have a reason to hurt Ross?" I asked.

"No, he kept to himself, worked hard." Bill said.

"Anyone have a beef with him?" Danny asked.

"No, he didn't have any enemies that I know of." Bill said.

I looked down. Bill was wearing Addidas shoes that had streaks of mud on them.

"Mr. Thomas, those are nice shoes. Are they running shoes?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're comfortable to work in." he said.

"What size are they?" Danny asked.

"10, why?" Bill asked.

"Mr. Thomas, where were you last night around midnight?" I asked.

"Home." He said.

"Can anyone verify that?" I asked.

"No, I live alone." He said. "What is the problem?"

"You need to come with us. We have some things we need to discuss." Danny said.

"What is this about?" Bill asked.

"Your shoes are the brand and size of the shoe prints were found by Ross's body." I said.

"Lots of guys in New York wear these shoes in this size." Bill protested.

"They're muddy, and you know the victim." Danny said.

(Station)

Danny and I stood outside the interrogation room. Mac was working on Bill Thomas's shoes, comparing them to the prints he'd taken earlier. Flack was working on getting a warrant for Thomas's home.

"Think he's our guy?" Danny asked.

"I think so, but there is no motive right now is what's bothering me. I mean why kill his best friend?" I asked.

"People can do anything to anyone…I've learned that." Danny said.

"Let's see what we can get him to tell us." I said and walked into the interrogation room.

"Can I go now?" Mr. Thomas asked.

"Not yet. Let's talk about Ross Black." I said.

"I told you. I don't know anything about his murder." Thomas said.

"Did you know his wife?" I asked.

"Celia, I met her a few times." Thomas said.

"Anyone have a problem with her? Want to send her a message?" Danny asked.

"I don't know her that well. She and Ross have been having problems lately." Thomas said.

"So I've heard. Think she had it in her to kill him?" I asked.

"NO! I don't think so." Thomas said.

"Ross have any other family you knew?" I asked.

There was a knock on the door, Danny went to answer it.

"I didn't know any of Ross's family." Thomas said.

"Did you ever know of Ross to do drugs? Frequent hookers? Anything that would lead to his murder?" I asked.

"No, I've told you I don't know anything." Thomas said.

Danny walked back in. "I just talked to my boss and guess what? Your shoes are an exact match to the shoeprints we found next to Ross Black's body. How do you explain that?"

"I can't." he said.

"Wear pattern is the same and doesn't lie." Danny said.

"Don get the warrants he wanted?" I asked Danny.

"Yeah, Flack and Mac are on their way to Mr. Thomas' house as we speak." Danny said.

"Mr. Thomas, anything you'd like to tell us?" I asked.

"No." he said and looked away.

"Listen, right now the one thing you have on your side is you can cooperate with us. We have a match of your shoes. And after searching your house we're going to have your flannel shirt that left red fibers on Ross's body and we'll match that. You cooperate with us now, it'll make things easier." Danny said.

"What happened Mr. Thomas?" I asked.

His shoulders slouched. "I've been seeing Celia for a few months. I loved her, I wanted to marry her……but Ross wouldn't grant a divorce."

"You're dating your best friend's wife?" Danny asked.

"It just happened." Thomas said. "Anyways, last night Ross and I went out for a drink. I tried to talk him into divorcing Celia but he wouldn't hear of it. She was miserable and he wouldn't sign the divorce papers."

"So you two got in a fight?" I asked.

"Not in the bar, but when we left the bar….I was so angry. I thought if I could get him out of the picture, Celia and I could be together." Thomas said.

"So you killed Ross to get his wife." Danny said.

"Yes, I found some rope from work in my truck. I snuck up on him behind the bar and strangled him." Thomas said and slouched more.

"Then you took him to Central Park and tried to make it look like a suicide." I said.

"I just wanted to be with Celia…he wouldn't let me have her." Thomas protested.

"And you still won't." I said.

(Bar, 9:00PM)

After we had wrapped up at the station, Flack invited me to join him and his friends for a drink.

"Have a good first day?" Mac asked me.

"It was good. Solved a case." I said. "With your help."

"Mac, she's a great partner. She thinks like me." Flack said.

"God help us all." Aiden said.

"I think she's gonna work out great. I'm glad she's my new partner." Flack smiled at me.

"Thanks. I feel the same way." I said.

"She's tough in interrogation." Danny saluted me with his beer. "Way to go Isabella."

"AURORA" Mac, Flack and Aiden all said.

Danny smirked. "I know, I just like giving her a hard time." Danny winked at me.

A girl with curly hair joined our table. "Sorry I'm late. Had to finish reports." She said.

"Stella, this is Flack's new partner Aurora Denton. Aurora this is another of my staff, Stella Bonasera." Mac said.

"Nice to meet you" I said to Stella.

"Aurora, what a pretty name for such a pretty girl." Stella smiled.

"Thank you, you're so sweet." I said.

"What's your middle name? I'm curious what your mother chose to go with such a pretty name." Stella asked.

"Dawn." I said.

Danny starting laughing. "Aurora Dawn Denton…..your initials are ADD."

Aiden rolled her eyes. "Grow up."

"I'm just amused…and I have something to pick on her about." Danny smirked.

"Next round is on me." Stella said and we all started ordering a new round of drinks.

"Want me to take you home when we leave? Make sure you get home safe?" Flack asked me.

I smiled. "Thanks, I'd like that." I said.